Improvement in machines for cleaning fiber and hair



T. MGAULEY. Ma0hine for Cleaning Fiber and Hair.

No. 211.757. Patentd Jan. 28, I879.

I NR we 5 see;

MPEFERS, FHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASMNGTON. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS MGAULEY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA,

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR CLEANING FlBE R AND HAIR.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 211,757, dated January 28, 1879; application filed May 11, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS McAULEY, of San Francisco city and county, State of California, have invented a Machine for Cleaning Fiber, Hair, 850.; and I do hereby declare the following description and accompanying drawings are sutficient to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which it most nearly a-ppertains to make and use my said invention without further invention or experiment.

My invention relates to a novel machine which is intended to dry and cleanse, or in some cases to cleanse alone, all sorts of vegetable fiber, hair, and similar substances. It is more especially intended for cleaning the fiber of the cocoa-nut husk.

It consists of a revolving drum, the outside of which is composed of slats, slightly separated from each other, so that the dirt may fall out. A number of blocks are placed within this drum with the fiber, and through the center a hot drum is passed, for the purpose of drying the material, when necessary.

Referring to the accompanying drawings for a more complete explanation of my invention, Figure l is a perspective view; Fig. 2, a cross-section.

A are two heads, of any suitable diameter, mounted upon a shaft at some distance apart. Strips of wood, B, are secured, one end to each head, and they are placed at a short distance apart, so as to leave a small space between the slats for the escape of dirt. In practice I have made these bars of wood and lined their interior faces with sheet-iron, which will protect the corners from abrasion.

Through the center of the machine a drum, C, passes, being formed of boiler-iron, so as to receive steam or hot water. Apipe with suitable cocks conveys steam through the center of the shaft to this drum, so that it will be heated, and will thoroughly dry the fiber and allow the dirt to be separated from it. Within the large cylinder I place a number of blocks, D, of stone, metal, or wood, and when the cylinder is rotated, by means of a belt to the pulley E, these blocks fall with the mass of fiber, thus assisting in beating out the dirt. A few of the bars B have projections G from their interior faces, for the purpose of carrying the mass up as the cylinder rotates, and allowin g it to fall from the upper part.

In treating the fiber of the cocoa-nut, hair, or any fiber which does not contain resinous substances, it is only necessary to apply a dry heat, and this, together with the rotary motion and the action of the blocks, will be sufficient to separate the dirt and leave the fiber in a clean condition.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The rotating drum having openings, as shown, and containing the loose blocks D, in

combination with the interior hollow heating- 1 

